Outside Circle by Jan Swan Wood: Rain!, Steffes wins CNFR, Black Hills Roundup, Wall celebration, ranch roping and branding clinic

We got a delightful 9/10ths of an inch of rain last week. It was pretty exciting as we had decided that the sky no longer leaked water out of it. It sure brightened up the country and our spirits. We still won’t have any hay but if it makes the grass get above dewclaw height, we’ll be pleased.

The CNFR is in the books for another year and our region made a good showing in most of the events. Kristi Steffes, representing Black Hills State University, won the championship in the barrels on her homebred gelding Captain Mitos Legacy. The grand gelding is 15 now and still running sound and made this his fourth and final CNFR appearance. Kristi is the daughter of Darrell and Jan Steffes, Vale, S.D. and the horse is by Frenchmans Guy and out of Mito Silver Bell by Captain Mito. Incidentally, the mare was Kristi’s sister Nikki’s high school and college rodeo horse, so it apparently runs in the family. Congrats to all!

The 97th Annual Black Hills Roundup will be July 1-4 at the Roundup Grounds in Belle Fourche, S.D. On Friday, July 1, there will be 9 a.m. slack for the PRCA rodeo and WPRA barrels. The 7th Annual cattle drive through downtown Belle Fourche will be at 3 p.m. and will wind up at the rodeo grounds, where there will be a community free BBQ for those with ranch rodeo tickets, then mutton busting at 5:45, introduction of the ranch rodeo teams and the cowboy auction at 6:30 and the 7th annual Ranch Rodeo at 7 p.m. By the way, this is one of the best ranch rodeos in the country, so sure worth going to see. It’s a real cowboy deal. On July 2 will be PRCA steer roping at 9 a.m., mutton busting at 5:30 p.m., and the first performance of the PRCA rodeo at 7 p.m. During the intermission will be the Ranch Rodeo Bronc Riding Championship! On July 3 the rodeo performance is at 7 p.m., and on July 4 it’s at 2 p.m. Also on the 4th is the Black Hills Roundup Parade through Belle Fourche, plus the fabulous B-1 flyover at 10:30. There are dances every night with great live music and lots of other fun activities, including fireworks, going on for the duration.

The Moorcroft Team Ropings, Moorcroft, Wyo., will be every Friday, 7 p.m., through August 26. Entries open at 6 p.m., close at 6:55 for the first roping. For info or to check on weather cancellations, call 307-756-2343, 307-756-3539, 307-756-2076, or 307-756-9616. If you think that was a mind boggling array of phone numbers to read, you should try typing them.

The 109th Annual Wall Celebration at Wall, S.D., will be July 7-9 with an SDRA rodeo all three days, a parade on Saturday at 10 a.m., stick horse rodeo, and a dance on Friday and Saturday nights. There are events and activities for everyone and all this is held on the threshold of the beautiful Badlands.

There will be Jackpot Barrels and Breakaway at the Lee Knight Arena, Wibaux, Mont. on Saturday, July 9, Sunday July 31 and August 7. They start at 1 p.m. and have open barrels, youth barrels, and breakaway for both open and youth. For more info, call Lee Knight at 406-989-8192 or Bobbi Jo Nielsen at 701-260-1522.

The Rockin’ the Bakken Barrel Race will be July 9 at Ray, N.D. There’s $3,000 added with 5D open, youth, peewee, 2D futurity sidepot, and 2D derby sidepot. Exhibitions are 8-9 a.m., time slots 9-11, and the barrel race starts at 11:30. It’s cash only for entries that day. Call 701-651-3416 for info.

There will be a Ranch Roping and Branding Clinic at Ballantine, Mont. on August 19-21. Joe Wolter, horseman extraordinaire, and Scott Grosskopf will be the instructors. There’s limited space so you’ll sure want to reserve yours early. Call Jimmie Wolter at 806-777-2766 or Staci Grosskopf at 406-861-4543 to get your name on the roster.

Well, that’s my circle. Send me you upcoming events and items of interest and I’ll sure share them right here. Have a great week.